Crucible for preparing fused quartz.



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FEEDERIC G. REYES, U15 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSTGNOR TU GUUPEM HEWTTT nrncrarc eoarr NY, 01!! HOBOKJEN, NEW JERSEY, A UURPORATTUN OF NEW JERSEY.

CMUCTBLE F0 PREPARING FUSED MUTE.

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specification of Letters fatent.

Patented Dec, fit, that,

making of many kindsof articles,for example, for containers for mercury vapor electric apparatus. My invention covers more particularly the preparation of a crucible adapted for the fusing of this material.

One of the diflioulties met in the treatin of very refractory substances, of which si ia is only one representative, is the obtaining of crucibles suitable for withstanding the high temperatures involved and at the same time to be neutral with regard to the substances being fused or heated. lit is well known that carbon or graphite resists heat in a very satisfactory manner at these high temperatures where no oxygen is present to combine with the carbon, but for many substances carbon is an undesirable material fora crucible on account of its tendency to react chemically upon them. Many substances will form carbids under the condi-' tion of high temperature whenin contact with carbon.

My plan is to utilise carbon for its excel lent heat resisting power, its chemical qualities, its cheapness and the facility with which 'it may be worked and to prevent reaction between the crucible and the charge by keeping the two out of contact as by the'insertion of a .tight lining betweenthe charge and the exposed wall of thecrucible. ll have found that among the various materials that ma be used for such a lining.

and which are inert withregard to various substances that may be operated upon, such as fused silica, tungsten is of great value. Tn virtue of its refractory nature, however, tungsten is not only expensive but difficult to manipulate and is hardly known in large thin pieces.

My invention includes, however, a method for producing a tight lining in a carbon or graphite crucible or crucible of similar material which cheap and eifective My process and the apparatus used in this ap plication are shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 shows the crucible furnished with a quantity of fused material therein; Fig. 2 shows a fragment of the crucible in the initial stage of the 'preparation and Fig. 3, shows the finishing stages. 7

In the first figure, 1 represents a hollow carbon or graphite shell or foundation so shaped as to stand firmly on a base and to hold the desired quantity of charge. 2 represents the charge chamber, 3 the tungsten lining and 4 the molten charge which may be, as' already described, of silica. The lining, 3, is tight to revent any contact between the charge and the carbon and also maybe made,if desired, to have a tight hold on the surface of the material of the crucible. The process of preparation'of this lining is as follows. I first make a paste or liquid mixture of some tungsten compound having a volatile element as, for example, sodium tungstate with some solvent or binder such, for example, as sodium silicate and apply this paste intimately to the surface of the crucible. This mixture contains tungsten, sodium, silica and water.

This stage of the preparation isshown in Fig. 2. When the paste has become somewhat dry I heat it, gradually raising the firing higher and higher. The sodium from the sodiumsilicate and the sodium from the sodium-tungstate is vaporized, producing a spongy or fritted mass oftungsten with a certain small amount of silicon, If this is fired suficiently high, the residuum is rewheel carried in bearings which can be guided'or applied by hand, if desired.

In Fig. 2, l is the carbon of the crucible described above and5 is the unheated mixture of paste ofsodium tungstate and so- --dium'silic ate,shown as applied on a small surface of the'crucible, and in Fig. 3which shows the crucibleafter the firing, 6 is the rough or frittered surface of the tungsten, 7 is a portion of the ished surface, 8 is the sp ning wheel, 9 the bearings for the spinning wheel, l0 the handle, 11 a pulley on the shaft of the wheel 8, and 12 a belt for driv ing the pulley at a high speed. When the whole surface has been gone over like the surface 7 of Fig. 3, the crucible is complete and ready for use.

It is well oftentimes in carrying out the heating or igniting of the crucible and the paste to keep the crucible in a reducing atmosphere,as for example an atmosphere of hydrogen to prevent the injurious efl'ect of oxygen.

I have described tungsten as a material for the lining of my crucible but do not wish to be limited to this material for there are other refractory chemically inert elemental metals very well adapted for certain uses of my apparatus. Neither do I wish to limit myself to carbon for other refractory material which needs a lining or any material which may be substituted therefor falls within the scope of the present invention. Neither do I wish to limit myself to the interior lining of a pocket as shown,-but include within my invention the covering of, any surface with elemental tungsten or equivalent material where protection is re order ofmagnitude, that the lining in the crucible will not be unduly strained by expansion and contraction. I would recommend a temperature of a thousand degrees centigrade or higher for the spinning of the tungsten.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carbon crucible with a tungsten lin ing.

2. A carbon crucible with a spongy tungsten lining.

3. A carbon crucible with a lining of refractory metal.

4. A carbon crucible with a lining of refractory metal inert to fused quartz.

* 5. A crucible of refractory material with alining of refractory metal inert to fused quartz.

6. A crucible of refractory material with a lining of refractory metal.

7. An article of manufacture, comprising a surface of refractory material and a covering of refractory metal.

8. An article of manufacture, comprising a surface of refractory material and a covering of tungsten.

9. A crucible having an inner surface of tungsten.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York this 27th day of June A. D. 1913.

FREDERICK G. KEYES.

Witnesses:

WM. I-I. GAPEL, Tnos. H. BROWN. 

